Help?! Got in too deep wit CTC cclaiming as single

[helpme2]

I've been so stupid. I moved in with my partner in May this year, we claimed HB, JSA, council tax ttogether but not Child Tax.

I'm as aa single claim and they found out after I wwent on Experian website. They have sent me a letter only mentioningaAugust to now they think I am lliving with Mr ******* which I am.

 

I am bricking it. I should have called them and was goingto until Bailiffs aarrived a month after for council tax from a few years ago (my housing didn't even say it had gone to them when I paid 5 days earlier)

so I had to pay council tax in full. And bailiffs wanted their fees so since then have been in hiding.

Then. The licence turned up as I cancelled DD and I got a summons to court. I was fined and am still paying my fine off Inc TV licence.

My step daughter went to live with a relative so we have to pay a large sum of CSA monthly.

 

Stupid I know not to tell them as I didn't want to have no money for 8 weeks. But now it's near Christmas and this has happened.

If I don't pay my fine bailiffs are back.

If I don't pay bailiffs they are back

if I don't pay TV licence I will be in court again.

 

I'm too scared to call Child tax credits I can't eat (good diet but wouldn't recommend it) me andmy partner are arguing

We are having to sell out dog just to get food as I know it will be stopped and I will get sent to prison or in the paper and all over social media.

I feel sick at the thought of it, and I don't know what to do. I have until December the 4th. They want me to call them or send in paper to prove I don't live with him.

What will happen to me?Please help! My family don't want to know or help and my partners family don't talk tohim.

I have a 11, 10 and 5 year old. I can't even afford schoolshoes my 11 yyear old has to wear plimsolls to school .

 

I've been so stupid.

Edited November 11, 2015 by honeybee13
Unbolding.

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG. I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems.

 

It may not be as bad as you think and it has to be pretty bad for them to send you to prison. I would forget about that if the claim only dates back to May this year.

 

Please bear with us until the people in the know can get here to advise.

 

HB

[helpme2]

Thank you. I'm. So worried

[antone]

So, just to be clear, CTC has sent you a letter as they believe you have been living with your partner since August. This is true as far as it goes, but you actually started living with him in May. You informed all of the other benefit offices at the appropriate time, but not CTC. Is this correct?

 

Under these circumstances, I'm going to say that you must tell CTC the truth as soon as possible. There is no good reason to wait: they're on their way to finding out the full story anyway, and it's far better for you that you be the one who tells them. But do not panic. Easy for me to say, I know, but panic will not help the situation.

 

There are a few possible outcomes. If you have been overpaid CTC they may simply seek to recover the overpayment. HMRC is not as "trigger happy" as, say, the DWP, when it comes to prosecution, but given that you failed to inform them of a relevant change in your circumstances and that failure has very possibly resulted in your being overpaid CTC then prosecution is a possibility. It would depend on the specific circumstances, how much of an overpayment is involved and so on. Unless we're talking about a very large sum of money, or you've previously been convicted of benefit fraud, I would say that prison is extremely unlikely.

[helpme2]

Yes its only CTC I didn't inform. I only kept it going until I pay the bailiff and my fine, I have never done anything like this before and was so stupid of me. (7 months worth)

I have to ring a number and speak to someone but I'm so scared. I'm scared I will be in big trouble, andwill bbe telling them it's been since May but I have seen so many stories on Google and Facebook of people being convicted.

I didn't do it because it was "more money" I didn't want the bailiffs to take my stuff. Since moving in with my partner it has been stressful as he hasn't paid many bills so I ended up covering them. Inc paying £1000 out, to a debt he owed.

Then after the bailiffs who are still hassling me even though the balance with council tax is paid (paying my dad back the money) and want £235 X 2, £75 X 2

then TV licence, and court fine. I didn't want things to get worse but they have already.

I'm so scared. I feel sick. I regret this decision so much. I think it's only about £1500 I owe them by the calculator. I say only.

What will happen to me ? Will they charge me? Will I get a record for fraud ? Even saying the wword "fraud" makes me feel sick.

[mikeymack2002]

There are a few threads running on this topic and it would pay you to read up on the advice given.

 

Getting this sorted now before it gets out of control is the best advice you need. You could face a financial penalty and or sanctions. Repaying the overpayment could cause you financial strain.

 

There is a post in this section that has some good information links within it on this subject. You could face an interview under caution (IUC) where you may be given the opportunity to explain how you came to not notifying a change of circumstances.

 

We don't judge anyone here but do suggest that the best course of action is to make a full and frank statement when asked to do so.

 

You may not have informed the Local authority about changes for your council tax so consider this as well. As far as what will happen to you is on a case by case situation. Please read up on other threads similar to yours and this may help you understand the importance of what you are now facing...

[antone]

We can't say for sure what will happen, and as Mikeymack says, there are a few other threads on this topic running at the moment. Definitely worth reading them.

 

If you can't face speaking to the CTC office on the phone, you can inform them by letter but to repeat what I and others have said, you have nothing at all to gain by delaying or not telling them. They will find this out and it will be a lot better if it comes from you.

 

£1500 is a lot to you and me but it's not a huge overpayment in the grand scheme of things and, as I said, HMRC is less inclined to prosecute than other benefit paying departments. However, we just don't know what they'll decide.

 

One other thing: you seem to be saying that the bailliffs are hassling you for a debt you've already paid. I know it's a separate matter entirely, but I think if it were me I'd be looking into dealing with that as a way of taking at least a little of the stress off.

[blondebubbles]

As mentioned, there is no way to know for sure what action HMRC will take but it is highly unlikely they will prosecute for 6-7months worth of money. It is more important to HMRC to get the money back.

 

Call them, confirm the actual date he moved in May and let them calculate what you owe. You'll then need to discuss a repayment plan and ask for an eligibility calculator for a claim as a couple.

 

No reporting it or replying to them now will only make matters worse.

Don't bother reading Facebook or googling, you are only going to read the worst case scenario. They wouldn't post stories simply about overpayments.

[mikeymack2002]

Slightly off topic but you need more advice re: your fines. Since you mentioned this above and this is classed as a priority debt this needs to be dealt with ASAP, this way you will not find your self further in debt.

 

 

You should contact the Court that is dealing with your account and ask for further time to pay. You will need to fill in what we know as a MC100 form. This is a financial assessment form that the Courts use to arrange for you to pay your fine by instalments. I would contact them asap and ask for further time to pay and stick to it like glue. Failure to do so could see this debt increase significantly, by this I mean if you default and the Court issue a Warrant of Control against you the fine will increase significantly by at least £75.00 plus a possible £235-00 for visiting your home.

 

 

I am not trying to scare you but point out the obvious that we see daily on CAG, so please set your priority debts as soon as possible, firstly this should be the fine, (consequences could be dire.) Council Tax, Rent, gas electric food clothes then everything else. With the overpayment issue you could enter in to an agreement to pay it back by instalments.

 

 

Let us know how you get on.

[helpme2]

Thank you for replying.

 

I owe £95 to the courts and have to pay £20 a month. Bailiff fees are £50 a month. CSA is £140 a month. Lowell is £60 a month. DwP loan is £40 a month. I pay £48 a month for TV licence then pay £12 a month when I have brought a years one and can't miss one payment for 6 months.

 

So when I moved in, I had to pay all this and I didn't want to end up in even more trouble, I had the bailiff out every few days and in 18 days had 12 letters of them.

 

And now i wish i had. As i don't want to be known as a fraud and cancel my CTC as it leaves us £380 a month to live on.

 

CAB isn't open near me until Monday so I can't go see them.

What will CTC say when I call them ?

Should I just say yes i done it and say May 1st I moved in?

Do they want paperwork sent to them?

Will I have a caution/charge fo fraud ?

 

Also my partner was claiming CTC for his daughter aat the time but she has moved out. So he doesn't get it anymore (until September )

 

What will happen in regards to him?

Will they go criminal because of that ?

 

This is such a mess. And if anyone is reading this and are doing the same, please ring them up. I have never known stress like this before and it isn't worth it.

Edited November 12, 2015 by honeybee13
Paras,

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

We've said several times that we can't predict what they will decide, but I think it's safe to say that if you leave dealing with this, it could easily get worse.

 

I would say your partner's claim is a separate issue I suspect, but it would be nice if someone who knows more than I do would confirm that.

 

Please ring them and you'll start to feel better. I can't remember anyone who has admitted to overclaiming who was given a hard time when they rang up.

 

HB

[blondebubbles]

If he claimed as a single person when you were together he will need to report that too.

 

To be honest you will be making their life a lot easier if you admit it so you're unlikely to get much hassle from them.

[mikeymack2002]

Since you have listed Lowells with a debt I suggest you start a new thread in the debt forums for even more useful advice. This could not be a priority debt (Unless it is a CCJ) this could be dropped to £1-00pm get that thread started ASAP as it may help you resolve this as well.

[mikeymack2002]

The partners claim is a separate issue and if they link both claims, as they may due to data sharing it may have an impact when deciding what to do. This could be seen as an organised fraud (a possibility) two individual claims with same partners is more complex and may result in a different approach by HMRC.

 

You both should resolve yours claims asap. If the amounts are substantial then the overpayment could take a long time to clear, therefore leaving you very short and financially worse off in the long run.

 

I wrote a guide on benefit fraud earlier this summer and it is awaiting for admin to approve it for posting.

[helpme2]

Oh god.

I knew this would be bad

i was gonna call but re read my letter and they want me to send documents? So should I send documents? council tax bank accounts etc.

The over payments are 6 month worth.

[blondebubbles]

Oh god.

I knew this would be bad

i was gonna call but re read my letter and they want me to send documents? So should I send documents? council tax bank accounts etc.

The over payments are 6 month worth.

 

Call them first and admit your error. They'll tell you if they'll still need more.

[mikeymack2002]

Oh god.

I knew this would be bad

i was gonna call but re read my letter and they want me to send documents? So should I send documents? council tax bank accounts etc.

The over payments are 6 month worth.

 

 

 

Please don't panic. Supply the required information then once done they will write to you again. 6 months is not a long time so please send off the letters then update your post later..

Edited November 16, 2015 by mikeymack2002
spelling error